Flu gets early start in Louisiana

The heart of flu season is approaching. In Louisiana, flu activity has already been reported at a moderate activity level, according to the Centers for Disease Control website.
A 2018 CDC study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases suggested that on average about 8% of the U.S. population gets sick from flu each season, with a range of between 3% and 11%, depending on the season.
According to Dr. Robert P. Blereau, a CDC sentinel flu physician located in Morgan City, “you can’t ever tell how many cases you will have in any given year, that’s why you need protection.”
The flu vaccine is suggested as the best way to prevent seasonal flu.
On Sept. 27, 2018, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, along with other public health and medical groups, kicked off the 2018-19 flu vaccine campaign held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
CDC early estimates indicate that more than 900,000 people were hospitalized and more than 80,000 people died from flu last season across the nation.
The Louisiana Department of Health reported that last year in Louisiana, there were more than 14,000 hospitalizations, and more than 1,400 deaths attributed to the flu.
“Everyone 6 months of age and older, unless they have some contraindication, should get a flu shot,” Blereau said. “A contraindication would be if someone had an allergy to some component in the flu shot, which is rare, but virtually everyone 6 months and older should get one.
“It’s the only way to provide protection. It’s not 100 percent, but it’s the best we got for the flu.”
The seasonal flu vaccine protects against the influenza virus that research indicates will be most common during the upcoming season. “There are some different strains this year. (The Centers for Disease Control) gets whatever is circulating in the early part of the year around the world and that is how they pick out which strains to put in the flu shot and they hope they have a match between what is circulating and what hits us so that it will be effective. Some years it is a good match, some years it’s a bad match,” Blereau said.
It takes about two weeks after vaccination for antibodies to develop in the body and provide protection against influenza virus infection. That is why it is better to get vaccinated by the end of October, before the flu season really gets under way.